A Connecticut man who escaped from a Georgia prison nearly 50 years ago and then settled into a quiet life in his home state will be allowed to remain there, the authorities in Georgia have decided.

The man, Robert Stackowitz, a Bridgeport native, was convicted in 1966 of robbery by force in Georgia, where he had gone on a road trip. Two years later, he escaped from what was then known as the Carroll County Convict Barracks and returned to Connecticut.

Using the alias Bob Gordon, he carved out an unassuming existence for himself in Sherman, a small town on the state’s western border with New York, where he fixed boat engines. But this year, after he applied for Social Security benefits using his real name, the Georgia authorities, who had stopped hunting for him long ago, took notice.

No one in Sherman apparently knew that their neighbor, 71, was once known as Inmate No. 0000364334 or that he had fled from prison — not even his longtime girlfriend, Cindy Derby. “I’m glad I didn’t know because then I would have always worried,” she said in June.

Federal marshals arrested Mr. Stackowitz on May 9, and he spent five days in the Bridgeport Correctional Center. He was released after friends chipped in to help him make bond.

He pleaded for clemency, arguing that he was in such poor health — he has bladder cancer, heart disease and diabetes — that he might not survive a trip to Georgia, let alone incarceration.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has decided, after reviewing his health information, to grant Mr. Stackowitz, who served two years of a 17-year sentence, a medical reprieve. Steve Hayes, a spokesman for the board, said the state would ask, through an interstate compact, that Connecticut keep Mr. Stackowitz under community supervision until the end of his sentence, July 14, 2022. Georgia officials will continue to monitor him, Mr. Hayes said.

Mr. Stackowitz’s lawyer, Norman Pattis, described his client as “dumbfounded” by the decision. “We’re grateful to the Georgia board,” Mr. Pattis said. “This is keeping a good man alive. It wasn’t just a medical reprieve; it was an existential reprieve.”

Karen Martucci, a spokeswoman for the Connecticut Department of Corrections, said that the agency had just received the paperwork from Georgia and that it was premature to make a decision about the request. “If we accept those conditions, we will assume responsibility for his supervision,” she said.

Sherman residents expressed mixed emotions upon learning that a fugitive had been living in their midst. Some said he should be allowed to remain free. Others said he should finish paying for a crime that, the indictment said, involved “unlawfully, wrongfully, fraudulently and violently” stealing $9 from a man, as well as the keys to his truck.

Rizzo’s Garage in Sherman used to refer boat owners to Mr. Stackowitz, because he was handy with engines. John Benzinger, a mechanic there, said he supported the decision to let Mr. Stackowitz stay in Connecticut.

“He was always a decent guy,” he said. “Given his health issue, it would cost the government more to prosecute him at this stage and put him in prison and pay for all his medical expenses.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A28 of the New York edition with the headline: Fugitive, 71, Won’t Be Forced to Return to Prison in Georgia. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe